it was unclear when or whether the fbi informed the white house .
aides had been aware generally of accusations against porter since late last year , white house advisers said , but learned of the specifics late tuesday when approached by a reporter from dailymail.com , which first detailed many of the allegations .
but he was talked out of it by kelly and others , according to these people , rob porter has resigned from his role as white house officials he had never physically abused women .
i took the photos given to the media nearly 15 years ago and the reality behind them is nowhere close to what is being described , ' porter said in a statement wednesday . '
porter ’s ex - wives said they informed the fbi in january 2017 of their allegations against him while they were being interviewed by agents as part of porter ’s security clearance review .
holderness 's revelations follow dailymail.com 's exclusive interview on tuesday evening with porter 's second wife , jennifer willoughby .
a senior white house official said wednesday that he would resign after his two ex - wives accused him of physical and emotional abuse , with one presenting pictures of her blackened eye .
the fbi did not respond to a request for comment .
the white house initially gave porter its full support .